Scottish golfer battling fresh 'health issues' heading into British Masters

Ewen Ferguson is keeping his fingers crossed that fresh “health issues” won’t ruin his early chance to impress European captain Luke Donald in the 2025 Ryder Cup qualification battle.

On the back of landing his third DP World Tour win in the BMW International Open in Munich earlier this summer, Ferguson has been paired with Donald for the opening two rounds in this week’s Betfred British Masters at The Belfry.

With Nick Faldo hosting it for the second year in a row, the event marks the start of a year-long points battle to make the European team for next year’s Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black in New York.

Ewen Ferguson pictured in action during the 152nd Open at Royal Troon lsst month. Picture: Warren Little/Getty Images.

It’s an opportunity for Ferguson in the first instance to stake his claim for the Team Cup, which Donald will once again oversee in Abu Dhabi in the build up to the biennial clash with the Americans.

But, after facing a battle with vertigo earlier in the year, the Dubai-based Scot is being tormented by a new issue that forced him to pull out of the D+D Real Czech Masters a fortnight ago before the opening round.

“At a time when I feel I should probably kick on, I’m not in as happy a head space as I’d like to be,” he told The Scotsman. “In Prague, I could feel the senses and numbness in my hands weren’t right. It’s fine when you are hitting on the range but I knew in the three holes I played that it wasn’t right.

“That was on the Tuesday and it was still the same when I woke up the next day so I went back to Dubai, where I’ve had loads of MRIs and scans and stuff to try and get to the bottom of it, but we still don’t know what’s wrong.

“We don’t know if it’s connected to what was happening earlier in the year and it might not be, but we have no idea. So, at a time when I want to be buzzing, I’m feeling a bit of trepidation. But I don’t want to put a downer on the week at this stage because I could still have a good week. It’s just not knowing what’s going on that is a bit annoying.”

Ferguson, who is among nine Scots teeing up at the Sutton Coldfield venue, finished in the top five in this event 12 months ago. “I love the course and I love everything about this tournament, so I just hope I’m feeling alright when I get going out there,” he added. “We’ll just need to see how it goes, to be honest.”